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Read about this dog -- military family trying to bring him home and costs skyrocketed


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Check out this story. I know this gal from a WAHM forum (we're in the same business). Her family is military and in England. This German Shepherd helps her when she has seizures, has kept would be burglars out of their house when her husband was deployed, and helped her in her pregnancies (as described in above link). They were doing all they could to prepare to bring him home to the USA, but the cost has gone from $300 to $2500+ in the last few months. Yikes! It must be so hard to have to consider leaving him behind.

Edited by milovaný
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Does the military not pay to ship the pets home? That is really sad, if so.

 

No, you are responsible for your own pet fees for flying.

 

Making this even harder is main PCS season is during the summer when school is out. Many airlines have temperature restrictions for when they will and will not fly pets.

 

There was uproar awhile ago when the airlines raised the pet fee so incredibly high, but I had not heard what happened with that. Apparently it is still in effect.

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The military doesn't pay for pets to be shipped overseas or back home. (At least, it doesn't in our branch of the military - USAF). When we took our dog over, we paid $350.00 to get her there. To bring her back, it cost almost $800.00. The price more than doubled. And the airlines (or pet shipping companies) can do it, because they know we won't leave our pet. Though, it is amazing the number of relinquished animals over there due to this very reason. Some people truly can't afford to bring the animal back.

 

Her price is higher because the cost of the crate the dog has to travel in is so big. The cost for a smaller animal would be less, as it is according to measurements of the crate.

Edited by maddykate
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We are Navy and yes we are authorized to ship 2 pets. We were authorized 2 pets to our overseas location and we are authorized 2 pets for returning to the states. Last year I think I paid $700 for all my pets with United. I got reimbursed shortly after turning in my travel claims. I hope to go with United since they were totally awesome along with the military personally from the AF Travis base (think it's AF). My friend recently flew with American Airlines with her dogs and one is a bit over 50 pounds and it was crazy expensive and she too was reimbursed.

I think there may be more to this person's story because out of all the PCS moves that have recently heard of only one person had high prices like that and it was because the animals were being shipped separate from her. I forgot why it was right before summer started.

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When we had orders for Germany (sigh) we were a little worried about that cost. Our dog is a boxer so he can't fly at all May-Sept and the cost for him and our cat was close to $2000. I was planning all the things I could sell to cover that cost. We seriously were/are considering having my grandpa 'foster' our cat. His just died and I think the cat will be happier without all the moving. At least that's my rationalization. ;)

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Check out this story. I know this gal from a WAHM forum (we're in the same business). Her family is military and in England. This German Shepherd helps her when she has seizures, has kept would be burglars out of their house when her husband was deployed, and helped her in her pregnancies (as described in above link). They were doing all they could to prepare to bring him home to the USA, but the cost has gone from $300 to $2500+ in the last few months. Yikes! It must be so hard to have to consider leaving him behind.

 

We paid to ship our dog to and from Hawaii. The cost included a battery of extra shots and blood tests that we also paid for out of pocket. But, $2,500 seems excessive. It didn't cost that much to ship my truck back from Hawaii. It is typically cheaper for you to fly *with* your pet, even if they are flying as cargo. edited because the pet travel company's discount only applies to their fee, not the the actual flight.

 

Does the military not pay to ship the pets home? That is really sad, if so.

 

The Army doesn't pay to ship your pets. And they only ship one vehicle. We have paid out of pocket to ship pets and vehicles all over the world.

 

No, you are responsible for your own pet fees for flying.

 

Making this even harder is main PCS season is during the summer when school is out. Many airlines have temperature restrictions for when they will and will not fly pets.

 

This is true.

 

we are military family and been doing moves for nearly two decades and the military has always reimbursed up to two pets.

 

The only thing the DoD will reimburse you for is if they pet needs to be quarantined. If you've been reimbursed for it in the last several years (it changed in 2007 to a DoD-wide policy), then I think it was an error. If not, I'd like to know how you filed it because we paid out of pocket to ship our dog back from Hawaii to the tune of about $1,000.

 

Here is the DoD travel site that spells this the policy:

http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/faqpet.cfm

 

1. Can I be reimbursed for quarantine fees and transportation charges I incur for my family pet?

 

Applicable to Uniformed members

 

Yes – and - No. Mandatory pet quarantine fees, incurred ICW the mandatory quarantine of a household pet, are reimbursable not to exceed $550 per PCS move for pets in, or entering into, quarantine on and after 28 December 2001. There is no reimbursement (nor any allowance) for "transportation" of a pet. See JFTR, par. U5805. Only quarantine costs associated with dogs and cats are included.

 

And an Army site:

http://www.usarj.army.mil/organization/vet/cost.aspx

Mandatory pet quarantine fees incurred by U.S. service members in connection with the mandatory quarantine of a household pet are reimbursable not to exceed $550 per PCS move for pets in, or entering into, quarantine on and after 28 DEC 2001. (Ref. JFTR, par. U5805.)

 

** Transportation cost, medical care, grooming, and similar fees for services that are part of routine pet care associated with a PCS are not reimbursable.

Edited by Mrs Mungo
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We paid to ship our dog to and from Hawaii. The cost included a battery of extra shots and blood tests that we also paid for out of pocket. But, $2,500 seems excessive. It didn't cost that much to ship my truck back from Hawaii. It is typically cheaper for you to fly *with* your pet, even if they are flying as cargo. edited because the pet travel company's discount only applies to their fee, not the the actual flight.

 

 

 

The Army doesn't pay to ship your pets. And they only ship one vehicle. We have paid out of pocket to ship pets and vehicles all over the world.

 

 

 

This is true.

 

 

 

The only thing the DoD will reimburse you for is if they pet needs to be quarantined. If you've been reimbursed for it in the last several years (it changed in 2007 to a DoD-wide policy), then I think it was an error. If not, I'd like to know how you filed it because we paid out of pocket to ship our dog back from Hawaii to the tune of about $1,000.

 

Here is the DoD travel site that spells this the policy:

http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/faqpet.cfm

 

 

 

And an Army site:

http://www.usarj.army.mil/organization/vet/cost.aspx

 

Mrs. Mungo, thanks for all of this.

 

I'm pretty familiar with most of the restrictions/rules regarding flying pets, as far as airline restrictions (temperature, breed, size limits, extra reinforced crates for certain breeds, etc...) as we've looked into all of what will be required to send our pets home when we leave, but we are corporate, not military, and I'm fairly certain our pets' travel costs will be covered as part of our moving expenses.

 

It saddens me, though, that the military won't give any kind of allowance for even one pet to travel with the family. Hopefully she'll get things worked out to be able to bring her boy home.

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This German Shepherd helps her when she has seizures,

 

Hyperemesis Gravidarum is just throwing up a lot when you are pregnant. It can be truly awful (I have a friend who lost a baby due to this), but it is not seizure activity. Does she say somewhere else that she has seizures? I'm not trying to nitpick. If she does have seizures and the dog helps her, then the below could be an option.

 

Could they look into getting it certified as a service dog?

 

Oops, never mind, I see in the beginning where she mentioned a seizure. Is her seizure activity medically documented?

Edited by Mrs Mungo
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This is what my friend had to say on our WAHM board:

They USED to be allowed on military flights, they no longer are from certain areas, like USAFE. People can still bring their pets from say, Japan to England (and even THAT can be a huge fight) but we can't bring them from England to anywhere (from what we are continually being told from the base) on a military flight anymore. Most of us with pets want them to be added to our military orders as dependents, which after all they ARE. There have been MANY pets left behind recently especially due to the new regulations, but they are the TSA/airline rules for commercial flights, the military doesn't have any say over that :(

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Is there a reason she can't transport the pet out of england then fly it back to the US from somewhere else?

 

(and I understand the hassle of transporting pets in the military. We did it for two overseas moves, there and back, and chose not to get another dog when ours died because of the how much work it was/expensive it was)

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I know others have mentioned service dogs--I don't know if the dog being labeled as a service dog would change anything, but the dog does not have to be certified as anything to be considered a service dog in the U.S. The ADA is very, very loose on this (I'm guessing because there is no nationwide, cohesive governing body for service animals? I'm not sure). Basically, if you say you have a service dog, you have a service dog. You do not have to have any certification or paperwork to back up this claim. The dog does not need to be wearing any identification (e.g., vest). You do not need to have proof of disability. In the case of, say, going into a retail establishment with your animal, the retailer may ask you if the dog is a service dog there to assist you with a disability. Period. You may not be questioned about the nature of your disability. You may not be told you cannot go where you otherwise have a right to go as a patron. The only exception is you may be asked to leave if your animal is excessively disruptive and/or acting aggressively toward others.

 

If the dog helps her with seizures and pregnancy issues, the dog is a service dog. It doesn't need a certification or special training by some organization. However, I have no idea if that helps in this case or not. I assume it still costs the same to fly a service dog as it does a pet.

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I know others have mentioned service dogs--I don't know if the dog being labeled as a service dog would change anything, but the dog does not have to be certified as anything to be considered a service dog in the U.S. The ADA is very, very loose on this (I'm guessing because there is no nationwide, cohesive governing body for service animals? I'm not sure). Basically, if you say you have a service dog, you have a service dog. You do not have to have any certification or paperwork to back up this claim. The dog does not need to be wearing any identification (e.g., vest). You do not need to have proof of disability. In the case of, say, going into a retail establishment with your animal, the retailer may ask you if the dog is a service dog there to assist you with a disability. Period. You may not be questioned about the nature of your disability. You may not be told you cannot go where you otherwise have a right to go as a patron. The only exception is you may be asked to leave if your animal is excessively disruptive and/or acting aggressively toward others.

 

If the dog helps her with seizures and pregnancy issues, the dog is a service dog. It doesn't need a certification or special training by some organization. However, I have no idea if that helps in this case or not. I assume it still costs the same to fly a service dog as it does a pet.

 

No. Just because it is not regulated the dog is still a pet. And opinions and abuses like this are what make it harder for those with legitimate service dogs, and attitudes towards adults and children with disabilities.

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No. Just because it is not regulated the dog is still a pet. And opinions and abuses like this are what make it harder for those with legitimate service dogs, and attitudes towards adults and children with disabilities.

 

FYI, I'm just quoting the law, not my opinion. Though I do not understand why, if the woman has a health issue or disability (in this case, siezures), and the dog provides a legitimate service for her with regard to that issue, how the dog is not a legitimate service dog or how use of the dog as a service dog is somehow an abuse or makes it difficult for others with disabilities? I understand there are people who can and do abuse the vagueness of this law, but I don't know this person and I'm not going to judge if her health issues are legitimate or not. Assuming they are, I don't see why the animal cannot be considered a legitimate service animal. I was in no way suggesting the woman claim a pet as a service dog simply to get one over on anyone and gain benefits they're not entitled to. I am assuming the dog actually provides a legitimate service with regard to a health issue/disability, in which case the law also considers the animal a legitimate service dog.

Edited by BrookValley
I can't spell...
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...as the dog is already in the family. But when we lived overseas, we did not have a pet because we could not be sure that we could keep it all of its life. We took this as one of the decisions we had made by choosing careers/lifestyles that would take us overseas. We didn't get a dog until we settled in Scotland, when Calvin was twelve and Hobbes was eight.

 

Again, I'm not saying that the particular family mentioned in the OP did anything wrong: the rules were changed after the dog became part of the family.

 

Laura

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Not sure if this is the reason but to bring my dog into the UK, he would have had to be quarantined for possible rabies for several months. If you got a pet in the UK and were flying out it wasn't a problem but flying in was.

 

We left with two cats from Scotland. The Navy did not pay for our pets at that time (1994).

 

My neighbour brought his corgies in from the US recently. They needed lots of paperwork, but they were not quarantined.

 

Laura

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